This article is aimed at shedding some light on the number of USB ports on PS5 and their version. I promise this article isn’t going to be dull as it sounds. After all, given how confusing USB port nomenclature is, it only makes sense that you the USB jargon.
This will not only help you in identifying what USB ports you have on your PS5, but also on PCs and other devices and understand their speeds.
The short answer to the question how many USB ports on PS5 you have available is four. You have 4 x USB ports. 3 of them are USB Type A whereas one is USB Type C.
But how powerful they are and what kind of speeds can you expect depends on their version, which I will demystify below.
So How Many USB Ports on PS5 Do You Get?
Let’s get straight to the point (or should we say, “port”?). The PlayStation 5 comes equipped with a total of four USB ports.
Their locations and versions are as follows:
- 1 x USB Type-C (SuperSpeed) port on the front (10 Gbps)
- 1 x USB Type-A (Hi-Speed) port on the front (0.48 Gbps)
- 2 x USB Type-A (SuperSpeed) ports on the rear (10 Gbps)
These ports can be used for connecting
- Controllers
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Headsets
- Camera
- VR
- External hard drives
- USB Hub for multiplying the USB ports.
Demystifying USB Port Versions—Because It Matters
Note that the specs on PlayStation’s official website DO NOT make any mention of whether ports belong to USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 generation, etc.
Instead, they simply mention their technology i.e SuperSpeed, Hi-Speed, and their speed in Gbps.
This is rightly so because the USB version and standard nomenclature are highly confusing.
The fact that USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 ALL HAVE THE SAME 5 Gbps transfer speed can confuse the hell out of someone who is not adept with USB ports.
To that end, the following table should help in demystifying the USB port versions.
| USB Version | Transfer Speed | Type Options | Transfer Technology |
| USB 2.0 | 0.48 Gbps | Type A | High Speed |
| USB 3.0 | 5.0 Gbps | Type A | SuperSpeed |
| USB 3.1 Gen 1 | 5.0 Gbps | Type A / C | SuperSpeed |
| USB 3.1 Gen 2 | 10.0 Gbps | Type A / C | SuperSpeed+ |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 | 5.0 Gbps | Type A / C | SuperSpeed |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1×2 | 10.0 Gbps | Type C | SuperSpeed |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 | 10.0 Gbps | Type A / C | SuperSpeed+ |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 | 20.0 Gbps | Type C | SuperSpeed++ |
Important points to note are as follows:
- USB 2.0 uses Hi-Speed technology operating at 0.48 Gbps
- USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 use the same transfer technology SuperSpeed and have the SAME 5 Gbps transfer speed.
- USB 3.1 Gen 2, and USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 use SuperSpeed+ technology with speeds of 10 Gbps
- USB 3.2 Gen 1×2 also has a transfer speed of 10 Gbps but instead of utilizing SuperSpeed+, it uses the inferior SuperSpeed with DUAL CHANNEL so it doubles from 5 Gbps to 10 Gbps.
With that clarified, we can deduce the following:
The 1 x USB Type-A port on the front conforms to USB 2.0 speeds (Hi-Speed) of 0.48 Gbps. This is the slowest and therefore should not be used for connecting your external drives to.
The 2 x USB Type-A ports on the back have speeds of 10 Gbps and since they are NOT dual channel, we can safely assume that are USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 ports.
The 1 x USB Type-C port on the front also corresponds to 10 Gbps and thus belongs to the USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 interface.
Utilizing the USB Ports Correctly
As mentioned earlier, one of the USB ports (The Type-A port on the front) belongs to the older Hi-Speed (0.48 Gbps) interface and hence you’d obviously not want to connect your external hard drive to this port or you’ll face serious bottlenecks.
PlayStation officially states:
USB storage should be connected to a SuperSpeed USB port. In addition to that, HD and PS Camera should also NOT be connected to the Hi-Speed port on the front.
The one Hi-Speed port on the front, however, can be used with the following devices
- Controllers
- PlayStation VR
- Wireless Headset adapter
- Keyboard / Mouse
For any other device, it you must use one of the SuperSpeed ports (Type A on the back and Type on the front).
USB Hub Should Be Connected to SuperSpeed Ports
USB port multiplier hubs should also be connected to the SuperSpeed ports.
It should be noted that a USB Hub ONLY multiplies the number of ports. It DOES NOT multiply the overall bandwidth.
In other words, if you have a 5-port USB Hub connected to a SuperSpeed USB Type-A port on the back, it will NOT multiply the speed to 50 Gbps (10 Gbps per port). Instead, the overall bandwidth will remain the same as the parent port.
To put this into perspective. If you have one external drive connected to the USB hub, it will be able to utilize the full 10 Gbps bandwidth of the parent port.
If you have two connected to the hub and they both are working simultaneously, their speed will be divided into two and so one if you have three or more drives connected.
In addition to that, a majority of the USB port multiplier hubs for PS5 only offer USB 2.0 ports and hence are NOT suitable for external drives, camera etc. They are rather intended for charging.
